Caught In A Storm
by LoneWolfMaverick71
Summary: Neptune and Noire get caught in a snow storm when visiting Lowee, leading to them being stuck in a cave together. Perfect time for confessions, right?
1. Chapter 1

[In Lastation]

"Noire! Guess who! It's your one and only friend. Ha ha, I decided to come and see you, Lonely Heart." Neptune calls out as she skips into the Lastation office. Uni jolts, almost dropping her paperwork. She turns to give Neptune a frown, utterly unamused by the said girls antics. Noire sits at her desk, signing papers whilst ignoring Neptunes interruption. "Ah.. Sorry for the intrusion.." Nepgear says, stepping into the office behind Neptune. "Uh.. Hey, Nepgear. You came too this time?" Uni asks as she rushes over to greet her. "Yeah, Histy decided I could do with a break and so she let me come here with Neptune." Nepgear continues, "Although.. Neptune should still be doing her work..." she trails off as she notices Neptune skipping around Noires desk. "Figures as much." Uni says as she begins sorting through the pile of paperwork in her arms. Noire finishes signing one more piece of paper before leaning back in her chair, sighing. "Hey, Uni. You don't have to do that, you should go and hang out with Nepgear while shes here." Noire says as she neatly stacks the paperwork on her desk. "R-really? Thanks, Noire." Uni says hurriedly rushing out the door with Nepgear close behind. Noire gets up from her chair and stretches, "Neptune, you've been here every second day for the last two weeks, what's that all about?" She asks. "What, I'm not allowed to come visit my workaholic tsundere?" Neptune teases as she sits down on Noires chair. "I-I'm not a 'tsundere'..! Regardless.. I really wanna know. Histoire hardly bothers with you anymore so it can't be that." Noire states. "Hmm? We'll get back to the tsundere part. Yeah, Histy tends to make Nepgear do more these days but that doesn't mean I'm off the hook. She still makes me go out and clear areas of monsters, and nepping help me if I get too caught up in a video game. I get lectured for hours!" Neptune says, frowning. Noire smirks before Neptune quickly hops out of Noires chair and runs over. She grabs hold of one of her arms and pulls herself closer. "..G-Geez, Nep. I'm trying to get work done you know!" Noire says, turning her head away from Neptune to hide her light blush. "Even a workaholic needs a break here and there and my Noire is no exception! Come on, let's do something fun!" Neptune laughs and skips to the door, pulling Noire along behind her

They exit the office into the main room, where Uni and Nepgear are. Noire quickly pries herself free of Neptunes grip as the CPU Candidates watch on with mild disinterest. "Geez.." Noire sighs as Neptune grins mischievously at her. Nepgear pulls out her phone, the screen lighting up as she turns it on. "Oh, Rom and Ram messaged me" She states, clicking away on the small device. Uni averts her attention to the phone too. "Yeah? What are they up to?" She asks. "Rom says that they're stuck at home again and Ram says dying of boredom. Hmm.. " Nepgear trails off, looking somewhat sad. "Whats wrong, Nepgear?" Uni asks, obviously concerned. Both Noire and Neptune seem to pick up on Uni's soft spot for Nepgear as they give each other an approving smirk. "It's not fair that Blanc doesn't let Rom and Ram leave the country.." Nepgear says as she closes her phone. "Yeah.. We hardly ever get to spend time with them.." Uni says, sighing. Noire looks away, realising that its sort of the same for Uni. Neptune places a hand on Noires shoulder and smiles boldly. "Well, why don't we go visit them then?" She suggests, placing her other hand on her hip.

[In Lowee]

"Are you sure its okay to just turn up uninvited like this?" Noire asks. The train stops and the girls all hop out. "Sure it is. Stop being such a worry-wart." Neptune answers as she takes a hand full of snow. She begins moulding it into the shape of a ball, a cheeky smile across her face. "Blanc doesn't like disruptions, Neptune. Just because we all signed a friendship treaty doesn't mean were all buddies. We're all still fighting for shares don't forget." Noire retorts as she stops outside the door of the basilicom. "But aren't we buddies.?" Neptune asks as she aims a snowball at Nepgear. She flings the snowball and it hits Nepgear between her shoulder blades, making her jolt. Nepgear turns around quickly to see Neptune almost passing out with laughter. "...you're such a child.." Noire mumbles to herself, smiling. Suddenly the basilicom door bursts open, making everyone jump. Rom and Ram stand in the doorway, each with huge smiles on their face. "Nepgear! Uni!" They call out simultaneously. "Hey Rom, Ram!" Uni calls out as she dusts the remaining snow off of Nepgears back. "Is Blanc here?" Noire asks politely. "Yeah and Vert is here too" Ram answers, leading them all inside. "Vert?" Noire says to herself.

Rom and Ram lead the girls to Blancs room where they find both Vert and Blanc sitting at a desk, looking at the computer. "Ah... What are you guys doing here?" Blanc asks. "Uni and Nepgear wanted to see Rom and Ram. Since were all here though, let's all do something fun together!" Neptune says, making a peace sign. Blanc frowns at Neptune and Noire gives her a look of sympathy. "Sorry, but I've got important work to do." Blanc answers, flatly. "Awe man~! But we came all this way." Neptune retorts. Vert stands up and walks over to the group, "Well perhaps we could have fun while working." she suggests. "Huh? What do you mean? Work can't be fun!" Neptune says, looking somewhat confused. Vert smiles and looks at Blanc, "Blanc still has a lot of work to do, so what if we were to help out by clearing Lowee of monsters? It'd be fun since we're all together and we would also be doing the citizens of Lowee a favour." She says, returning her attention to face the group. "Hmm.. that's not a bad idea. Plus with all of us helping it'll be done in no time." Noire says, looking at Blanc. Blanc gives in and walks over to the group, "Well.. at least we're still working" she states.

"Right! Let's get going, 'Super Monster Hunting Team'! Follow me~!" Neptune sings out as she marches to the door. "You don't even know where to go, Neptune." Noire calls out. Neptune stops at the door and turns back to look at the group. "Wouldn't it make more sense for Blanc to lead us?" Noire states as she places one hand on her hip. "But I'm the main character!" Neptune says, winking at her. "Stop breaking the fourth wall!" Noire, Blanc and Vert all say at once.

"Let's see.. Hmm, there appears to be a couple of reports from this area here." Vert says, pointing to an area on the map. "There's a lot of caves there and a village, I believe." she continues, looking at the group. Blanc takes a look at the area on the map, "That village is old and abandoned, but it should be good" she states. "Huh? So we can finally go?" Neptune says as she stands up from the lounge. "You need to learn to be more patient.." Noire says, stretching. "Awe Noire. Thanks for offering to teach me~" Neptune teases. "W-what? I did not." Noire says, defensively. "Anyway, Let's go!" Neptune yells out as she runs to the door. "Yeah, yeah.. come on Uni we're going." Noire calls out as she follows Neptune to the door. "Ah, right" Uni says, rising from the lounge. Nepgear, Rom and Ram follow Uni out the door as Blanc and Vert trail behind.


	2. Chapter 2

[At The Old Town]

The group arrive to find a heap of low levelled monsters spread across the land. "Woah. There's so many~!" Neptune says, shocked. Noire stands next to Neptune, looking at the old village, "I guess since its abandoned no one was around to report them, which let them build up in numbers." she says, placing a hand on her hip. "That makes sense.." Neptune answers. A large pack of Dogoos appear from behind a couple of trees. "Hmmph. Too easy." Noire huffs. "There are only low-levelled monsters.. wheres the challenge?!" Neptune sighs before continuing, "well at least our sisters can train without us worrying too much." she finishes, giving Nepgear a smile. "I guess" Noire agrees. "Let's work together and clear this village!" Ram yells out, smiling bravely. "Yeah!" Rom chimes in. "Hold it! We have to clear the fields first.." Blanc says, looking out at a field to the left. The group averts there attention to the field. A large pack of Hyenas prowl around a field that sits just on the outskirts of the town, near an old, white church. "Alright~! Lets clear this field!" Ram calls out, marching towards the field. Rom joins her and Blanc follows closely behind. "Hmm, well then, I guess I'll join them. See you guys later." Vert says, walking to catch up to Blanc. "Righty'o! Have fun, we'll catch ya' later!" Neptune calls out, waving to them.

"Hey, check that out.." Nepgear says, pointing to what appears to be an old farm. The others avert their attention to the farm as well. A wooden fence surrounds a large paddock which is full of dogoos. An old looking, wooden barn sits just to the right of the paddock, with huge windows and doors. It's red paint scratched and faded.

"Ewe~ It's so old looking.." Neptune says.

"I think It's cool, sis." Nepgear retorts.

"..Yeah, you would.."

"I can handle them." Uni says, pulling out her gun.

"I'll join you!" Nepgear states.

"S-sure.. I guess I can let you help. Just don't get in my way~!" Uni says, winking.

"You got it."

"Then let's go."

They take off running down the hill to the abandoned farm. "Alright, take care!" Neptune calls out, waving. "Yeah, we'll catch up to you guys later!" Nepgear calls back, returning the wave.

Neptune looks around a little before spotting another pack of hyenas near a cave. "Hey, Noire, let's take those hyenas out~!" She says making a fist and confidently smiling. Noire looks over at the pack too and her lips curve into a smirk. "Alright, lets do it!" She says, walking over to Neptune. Neptune winks at her before taking off running towards the hyenas, "If you don't hurry though, I'll end up killing them all on you!" She calls back, laughing. Noire takes off running after her, "oh yeah? I bet I kill the most!" She says, catching up to Neptune. "Ha, we'll see!" Neptune retorts, now running at the same pace as Noire.

[At The Church Grounds]

Vert, Blanc, Rom and Ram all stop as they reach the field. The hyenas prowl around before one notices the girls. "Well, this is quite an easy job. I don't even think we need our HDD forms" Vert says as her spear appears. She whirls it around to her side before charging at the pack of wild animals. "I've got your back, Ram!" Rom says as she readies her weapon. "Thanks, Rom!" Ram replies, getting into position. Blanc gives them a nod before charging at the pack, slashing at the creatures with her hammer.

Vert hits a hyena onto its side, making it tumble across the ground. Another hyena jumps at her and she raises her spear in time to block. She uses the end of the spear to hold the hyena back as she slips out of the way, moving her spear to the side, causing the hyena to fall onto the ground. She looks over at the other hyena to find it's back on its feet. The hyena starts coming towards her as she notices the other hyena is now on its feet as well. They both head towards her. She spins the spear around before stabbing it into one of the hyenas, turning it into nothing but data. Quickly, she readies herself before the next hyena launches itself at her once more. The monster turns to data as her spear is driven through it. Panting, she turns to check on the others. Blanc brings her hammer down onto a hyena, killing it instantly. Another hyena runs around to her side before leaping at her. She spins around with her hammer as it collides with the creature. The force of the hammer sends the hyena flying a few meters before hitting the ground and bursting into pieces of data. Blanc looks up and notices Vert smirking at her. "What?" She says, flatly. "Oh, its nothing. Your just so small it's hard to imagine you swinging that hammer around like its nothing." Vert replies with a giggle. Blanc rolls her eyes and looks over at Rom and Ram. The girls take turns in shielding each other while the other fights off a hyena. Ram finishes killing a hyena before another one runs over, catching her off guard. Before it can reach her Rom smashes her weapon into its side, causing it to roll onto the ground. The girls then take turns beating it before it can get up, eventually the monster bursts into data.

"Perhaps we have something to learn from them.." Vert says, looking over at Blanc for a reaction to which Blanc returns with a small nod. "We did it!" Rom and Ram shout together. Blanc smiles at them before looking up at the sky. "That doesn't look too good.." she states. The group look up to see dark clouds forming in the sky. "We should start heading towards the others." Vert suggests. The others exchange looks before agreeing with a simple nod.

[At The Barn]

A beam of light hits a dogoo, turning it into specs of data that flutter to the ground. More beams of light shoot out from Uni's gun, killing three more dogoos. "Wow, Uni. You've really gotten good." Nepgear states as she slices a dogoo in half. Uni's face flushes with a light shade of red, "Huh? W-what do you mean?" She asks as she reloads her gun. "Well, you never miss a shot.. The last time we fought together, you only hit the target about half of the time." Nepgear answers as she slashes at another dogoo. Uni shoots a couple more dogoos, "W-well, of course it's a natural skill for the likes of me.. but um.. I have been practising a lot.. Especially since Noire started letting me join her on quests..." Uni trails off as she finds herself watching Nepgear slice apart three dogoos at once. Nepgear takes a deep breath before turning to face Uni. "U-u-uh.." Uni stutters as her face turns bright red, "t-that was r-really cool, Nepgear" she says. Nepgears cheeks turn red and she smiles, "Thanks, Uni!" She says, brightly. They both turn to see that all the dogoos have been taken care of. "Hey, Uni.." Nepgear says as she turns back to face her, "would it be alright for us to hang out more.? I'd love to be able to train with you like we used to.!" She says. Uni's whole body goes numb as she struggles to find her words. It was true that since their sisters had returned they hadn't gotten to spend as much time together. During that time apart, Uni had become really good. Though, she did miss training with Nepgear. Even though she could never admit it.

"Uhm.. Uni?" Nepgear calls out, "You okay there.?".

Uni snaps free of her thoughts before answering, "A-a-ah... Sorry, I was just thinking about when I'm free to hang next.. how about next week sometime? I'll have to talk to Noire first, of course, but um.. whenever you're free too.. I guess.. ha ha.." She answers, nervously.

"Oh of course, I'll talk to Histoire about it, I'm sure she'll let me!" Nepgear says as she smiles, brightly. Uni shakes her head trying to focus on anything except Nepgears smile.

Nepgear looks up at the large, dark clouds that now completely cover the sky. "Uh.. we should get back to the group.." she says, worriedly. Uni looks up at the dark sky, too. "Y-yeah.. let's go." she says. They both start walking back towards the hill when a loud and strong gust of winds comes from nowhere, almost knocking them over. They both stop and raise their hands to try block the wind, with no such luck. "..The hell?!" Uni retorts. Wind forcefully throws snow in every direction, making it impossible to see.


	3. Chapter 3

[At The Caves]

"Ha ha, the first kills mine!" Noire shouts as she slashes a hyena into pieces. "You may have gotten the first kill but you won't get the most!" Neptune yells out, stabbing one of the hyenas in its side, killing it. The attack caught the hyenas off guard as the rest of the pack ready themselves. Noire laughs as she slices another hyena in half. "It's on!" she says. She slashes at yet another hyena before kicking it into the ground. Neptune rushes head-on towards the pack, slashing and slicing at as many as she can reach. Three hyenas burst into data. She readies herself again, "that makes four!" she calls out.

The last three hyenas rush at Neptune as she braces herself. Suddenly Noire comes running up behind them and slashes at the two closes to her. The two hyenas burn in a fiery blaze before bursting into specs of data. She aims for the last one but Neptune quickly rushes forward, driving her sword through its entire body. There's a small pause as the lifeless creature stays skewed on her sword. She smirks, deviously before the hyena bursts into data, leaving a cleared area. Noire looks around, "Huh.. they're all gone, that was quick" she says. "I got five" Neptune says bringing Noires attention back to her. "I got five too.." She answers. "Huh, then I guess its a tie" Nep says giving her a smile. "I still beat you to get the first kill" Noire says looking over at the caves. Geez, she's so competitive. Neptune smiles as she watches Noire snoop around, probably looking for another monster to kill and break the tie.

Suddenly the area grows dark and cold. Looking up Neptune realises that the once blue sky is now covered in large, dark clouds. She shivers and looks over at Noire. "H-hey.. I think we should be heading back now.." she calls out. Noire turns to face Neptune. "What, why? Don't tell me its because you're hungry, Nep!" Noire states before continuing her snooping. Hunger was the last thing on her mind, although since Noire brought it up, a pudding would be lovely right about now. She shakes the thought away before walking over to Noire. "I'm not hungry. Just look at the-" shes cut off as a freezing wind almost sweeps her off her feet. "W-what the-" Noires voice is over-powered by the wind. They both hold a hand up to try see past the continual flow of snow being blown in their direction but neither of them have any luck. At this rate its hard for them to even see each other, despite being only a few steps away.

[Church]

"There's no way we're gonna make it to the group in time!" Blanc yells out. She stops running and looks in all directions. Rom and Ram stop in their tracks as they reach their big sister, "Why have we stopped?" Ram asks. "We need to find shelter." Blanc says still frantically looking around. There had to be shelter somewhere for them. But where? Vert finally catches up as she comes to a stop beside the twins. "Give me some warning next time before you go speeding off like that.." she says trying to catch her breath. "Are we too fast for you, Vert?" Rom asks curiously watching as the Leanbox CPU panted. She straightened up and glanced at the girls before giving a smirk, "Not at all. I just wasn't expecting Blanc to suddenly take off like that, demanding we follow." she says. "Over there!" Blanc says pointing to an old church. "Hm? What about it?" Vert asks before Blanc takes off running towards it. "Quickly! Follow me!" She calls out to the group. Rom and Ram take off after her as they leave Vert behind. "Again? What's gotten into her?.. could it be?" She asks herself looking up at the dark sky. Deciding there was something nasty about the clouds she ran after the group.

Blanc reaches the church first. She pushes the doors open and beckons for the girls to hurry inside, to which Rom and Ram do without questions. "Hurry up, Vert!" She calls out. Vert runs inside with the rest of them as Blanc closes the doors behind her, locking them. "Make sure that other door is locked!" She demands. Ram quickly scurries over and gives the door a pull. Locked. "All good, Sis!" She yells out.

Old wooden benches sit in rows with a gap in the middle, creating a walkway. At the front is a small stage with stand in the middle. Once colourful and decorative windows line up evenly around the room. The paint on the wall faded and ruined by years of neglect.

"Honestly, Blanc. What was that all about?" Vert asks, taking a seat on one of the benches. Blanc walks over to take a seat on the next bench over. Before she can answer a howling noise echoes outside. Rom and Ram run to the window only to find that there's nothing to see but white. "A snow storm?" Vert asks openly. Blanc nods. "This town formed over forty years ago. It was a small community. Only, it didn't last very long. It became abandoned because of all the dangerous snow storms that occur here. Because of the mountain to the side it meant snow storms would often form here quickly and unexpectedly. It also meant they were a lot stronger too." Blanc answers. Vert brings a finger to her chin, quiet obviously deep in thought. "Then, what about the others? We should go get them and bring them here." She suggests. Blanc shakes her head, "There's no way we would be able to go back out there. Even in HDD form we still wouldn't be able to fly or walk against those winds, let alone see anything." She says, bluntly. "Hmm. I suppose that's true.. Guess we'll have to just wait this storm out and hope the others are okay." Vert states.

"So we defiantly can't go find Nepgear and Uni..?" Rom asks, her eyes welling up.

"Rom! This is Nepgear and Uni we're talking about! They'll be fine. Noire and Nep will keep them safe, too!" Ram says as she embraces Rom in a hug.

"You're sure.?" Rom asks, glancing at everyone.

Vert smiles and nods as Blanc does the same. Ram hugs her sister tighter and they both smile up with hope.

[Barn]

"..Uni.!" Nepgear calls out. There came no reply. "Uni?" She calls out again, this time louder. Her body shakes from the cold as she treads through the growing snow. She walks in the direction Uni was last seen, desperately fighting against the wind. In the distance a voice can be heard, just barely. "Uni.. is that you?" Nepgear yells out. The sound of someones voice grew closer and closer, although she couldn't exactly hear what they were saying. Inching forward, the outline of someone struggling towards her became noticeable. "Uni!" She cries out, moving faster towards the girl. "Nepgear!" Uni replies, her voice low and shaky. Nepgear wraps her arms around Uni, pulling her close. "We have to get out of here.." Uni states before trailing off. The small girls body grows heavier against Nepgears as she shakes violently. Holding Uni close, Nepgear shuffles further, searching for any sign of shelter.

Looking around proved futile as the ever snow clashed against them from every direction, blinding them. Tears that managed to escape her eyes turn to ice, coating her cheeks in a painfully cold frost. Hope started leaving her almost as fast as her energy. The area growing darker as the world seemed to fade away.

 _Bang._

'Is that..'

 _Clash._

'..The barn.?'

Nepgear begins hurriedly moving towards the sound, carrying Uni along with her. Before long the barn becomes visible as she spots the doors wailing around in the wind, clashing against the wall as they open and close. Carefully, she brings Uni inside. Through the dark she finds a pile of wool and gently places Uni on top before closing and locking the barn doors. "..Nepgear, w-where are we..? Wait, what happened- How did you-?" Uni asks, looking confused. Nepgear rushes over and wraps a sheet of wool over her. "..It's okay. We're in the old barn..." she trails off as she places a hand against Uni's cheek, "..you're still really cold but you seem to be warming up relatively quick.." she finishes.

Nepgear begins wandering around the barn, leaving Uni still puzzled as to what happened. She sits huddled into the wool waiting for Nepgear to come back from snooping. After a few minutes the sound of things clattering catches Unis attention before a loud bang followed by a yelp and thud occur. "Ouch" Nepgear cries out. Uni quickly unwraps herself and runs over to find Nepgear on the floor, rubbing her head. "..what happened.?" Uni asks, kneeling down to rub her head better. "..ah.. I was looking through some old stuff when something landed on me.." Nepgear replied. Uni helps her up off the ground. "Thanks.." Nepgear says before looking around. She walks over to a black box with glass around it and picks it up.

"Whats that.?" Uni asks.

"It's a lantern.."

Nepgear picks up a small box of matches and carries the items over to the sheets of wool. "People used to use it for light but it should warm us a tiny bit as well." She answers.

"..You sure know a lot about old stuff, huh?"

"I think It's cool and interesting."

"Your alone on that one.."

"Hey!" Nepgear pouts.

Uni lets out a small chuckle. "Ha ha, I'm only kidding! I guess, It is pretty cool that you know this much. It's really helped us, huh?"

"Indeed."

Nepgear lights the lantern before placing it on the ground, far enough away from the wool so that it won't catch fire. "There. Now, let's get some sleep." Uni nods before the two girls climb into the stacks of wool, wrapping themselves in it. As Uni closes her eyes she feels to arms wrap around her as Nepgear pulls her close. "We'll be warmer like this." Nepgear states, snuggling close. "..Y-Y-yeah... Right..." Uni stutters. It doesn't take long for them to both fall asleep as they cuddle each other for warmth.


	4. Chapter 4

[Caves]

The snow flies dangerously in the storm, smashing against Neptunes body. Frost begins to form on her cheeks and mouth as she looks around for any sign of Noire. Her legs shake as the wind makes it nearly impossible to move.

 _Noire.. Where are you..?_

As she pushes on through the snow something grabs hold of her arm and begins pulling her along. Deciding there wasn't really much she could do she used her remaining strength to push on through the storm, trying to keep up with whoever or whatever was pulling her. Snow pummels her body from each and every direction. It's ice-cold venom striking at her skin. Eventually, she's lead into what seems to be a cave, guessing from the darkness. As they tread further and further inside the storm beings dying down, till it can no longer reach them. Neptune shivers a little as the cold still lingers, even here. Though, it's no where near as bad as outside. She looks down to find something still holding onto her arm and turns to the mysterious figure, "Thank you, but I have to go find No-... Noire?" She stops as she stares at the Lastation CPU.

 _She saved her life. What's more is, she's okay._

"NOIRE!" Neptune cries out as she wraps her arms around her. "N-Neptune..?" Noire stutters, looking down at Neptune. She let's out a sigh of relief and embraces her in a hug. The hug lasts for what seems like forever before Noire breaks silence, "Uh.. Hey, Neptune? I think this has gone on long enough now.." she says. Neptune looks up at her, "Nooo. Just another minute..." she rubs her head against Noires chest before continuing, "They're really comfy, you know.!" She finishes. Noires face lights up. "...Th-that's-!" Noire stutters as she pushed Neptune away, "You're such a pervert!". A huge grin forms on Neptunes lips. "Ah, come on, you love it~. Anyway, how did you know where this cave was?" She asks. Noire walks over to pick up some sticks that are lying on the ground. "Well, I saw it while I was looking for more monsters... When the storm hit I kinda remembered which direction it was in.." she states while putting the sticks in a pile. "Huh? You mean while snooping? Anyway, nice sense of direction you have!" Neptune says as she walks over to see what Noire is doing. She sits down next to her and watches intently. Noire places some small rocks around the pile of sticks before rubbing two sticks together. "Uh? Noire? Whatcha' doin'?" Neptune asks. "Making a fire.." she answers. A small light starts to glow inside the pile of sticks before Noire gently blows towards it, making it grow bigger. "Woah!" Neptune gasps. Noire smirks, proudly. "It'll give us some light and warmth" she says, resting her back against the wall of the cave.

Neptune shuffles in next to her. "Hmm? But what about this? This makes it warmer too!" She says as she snuggles into Noires shoulder. Noires face flushes red as she turns away, "G-geez, Nep".

"Hey, Noire.. how come you didn't just leave me out there.?" Nep asks, looking up.

"...Well.. I couldn't let you die could I? I mean that'd mean breaking the friendship treaty." She answers.

"Was it the friendship treaty? Or you didn't wanna lose your only true friend?" Neptune teases as she pokes Noires cheek./

"... S-shut Up! Don't make me regret saving you.." she retorts.

Neptune curls up next to Noire and rests her head on her lap.

"..you said you had to go back and find me.. did you really mean that..?" Noire asks, nervously as she fiddles with her hair.

"..Well of course. You're my best friend. I couldn't leave you out there.." Neptune answers with a friendly smile.

"..and if you couldn't find me..?"

"I'd never stop looking".

[Church]

"Tag, You're it!"

"Awe, no fair, Ram!"

"It's perfectly fair!"

The sound of small feet running echoes through the church.

"Rom, Ram, please be quiet."

"Now, now, Blanc. They're young and they're bored."

"I don't care. They're annoying me."

Vert lets out a sigh before continuing to watch the young CPU candidates as they play. The way Vert saw it, Rom and Ram were lucky. They never had to go to war to earn shares, or fight other countries goddesses like she and Blanc had. They never had to plan attacks or defences against other countries. They never had to work hard every day. They were lucky because they never had any real worries. They could be friends with the other CPU candidates. Most importantly though, they had a sister. A sister who, although rarely showed it, cared for them and loved them. But here they were. Safe. Whilst in a deadly snow storm. But all Blanc thinks about is how they're annoying her.

"..They're safe."

Blanc looks over at Vert, who remains watching the girls play. Blanc didn't understand it. Here they were in a snow storm and Rom and Ram are playing. Playing. Like nothing is wrong. Sure, It's better than them being in danger, or even worrying about the others. But, still. Playing? Surely they could at least do something productive. They could train. They could get some rest. They could even plan for more updates on Lowees consoles. But here they were, playing. Playing noisily at that. They could at the very, very, least play something quietly. Blanc didn't understand it or why Vert didn't seem to mind. She didn't have sisters, so she didn't know what it's like to have them be noisy all day, everyday.

"..They're unproductive."

Vert turns to meet Blancs gaze. She opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by the innocent voice of Rom.

"..Sis, we're getting really tired"

The older CPUs turn to see the girls standing in front of them.

"..It doesn't seem like the storm will end anytime soon so why don't you have a sleep on one of the benches." Blanc offers.

"..Okay."

The girls curl up together on the bench in front of Blanc and eventually fall into a deep sleep.

"..I do hope that the others are okay." Vert whispers.

"..I'm sure they're fine. It's not like they're stupid. Well, not all of them anyway."

"I suppose that's true. But they don't live near snow. They wouldn't know what a snow storm was. Well, perhaps Noire might but Nepgear and Uni won't. Neptune defiantly won't."

"Then let's hope Noires pride doesn't blind her like it usually does."

"Hmm? Someone has a thing against Noire it seems.. I guess she can be stubborn, but she's also the hardest worker out of all of us."

"Tch. Lastation has been in front of us forever, how can you not have a thing against them?"

"I guess we think differently. Regardless, I hope Nepgear is safe.. I don't even know what I'd do if something bad happened to her."

[Barn]

The sound of snow crashing against wood fills the world outside. Inside, a small glowing light covers two sleeping CPU candidates. They lay motionless, holding each other. A light growling sound comes from underneath the wool. Eyelids begin to flutter open revealing bright purple eyes. Nepgear sits up a little and looks around. Uni's arms are still tightly wrapped around her waist. She smiles, gently brushing Uni's hair. She considered herself and Uni lucky. Just a few hours ago they were stuck outside in a humongous snow storm. Just a few hours ago she couldn't see past the blinding snow. Just a few hours ago she thought Uni would freeze to death. Just a few hours ago.. felt like an eternity ago.

Now, Uni was very much alive.

Now, they were snug and warm in an old barn.

Now, they-

 _Growl._

Now, she was hungry.

She sighs and lays back down. There was no way this place would have any food in it. All she can do is keep warm and hope the storm ends soon. Another small growl comes from her belly. She feels the arms around her tighten as the small, raven haired girl begins to stir. Red eyes slowly open as she let's out a small yawn. She takes a few seconds to remember where she is and what happened before looking up at Nepgear, a dark blush across her cheeks.

"Hey, you okay, Uni?" Nepgear asks.

"..Y-yeah. The storm hasn't passed yet, has it?"

Nepgear shakes her head. "Not yet" she replies.

Uni let's out a sigh. "..Nepgear.. Do you think the others are okay?"

"...Yes, I do.."

"That's awfully optimistic of you.."

"Hey! I really do think they're fine."

"But Rom and Ram are so small.. there's no way they would last long in that storm.."

"Y-yeah. But don't forget they were with Blanc and Vert. I'm sure Blanc would know what to do and where to go in a snow storm. Maybe they do, too."

"..then what about Noire..?"

"Uni.. I'm sure she's okay. Noire is really smart right? She'll know what to do, or at least work it out.." Nepgear whispers, her lips almost touching Uni's cheek. A dark shade of red covers all of Uni's face. Tingling feelings shoot around her body. Her heart beating fast in her chest. She sinks further into Nepgears grip as her body melts. "..O-okay. I g-guess you're right. I should start being more positive about things." She stutters. Nepgear let's out a giggle before replying. "I'd be more worried about leaving Neptune alone with Noire"

"Huh?" Uni felt her body go tense. What was Nepgear implying? Were Noire and Neptune a thing? Did Neptune like Noire? Did Noire like her? What did Nepgear know that Uni didn't? For all she knew her sister and Neptune were best friends. They were close, anyone could see that. But a couple? Uni couldn't see that. Maybe because she hadn't been looking. She let's out a frustrated sigh. "What do you mean by that?" She asks, flatly. "Hmm? Well, just that Neptune would be extremely bored and she'd probably end up driving Noire mad." Nepgear replies. "O-oh.. Right. Y-yeah, that makes sense." Uni relaxes her body. Why did she even get so worked up about this? Even if they had been like that it was none of her business.


	5. Chapter 5

[Caves]

The fire burns brightly as flames flicker about with a gentle crackling sound, filling the dark cave with warmth. A small purple-haired CPU lay awake, watching the mystical fire burn. She had only ever seen one of these in movies and animes. This bright orange thing was giving light and warmth, It was amazing. It was magical. Slowly, she reached her hand out. Her hand grew increasingly hotter as she inched closer. Suddenly, Noire slapped her hand away from the fire before she could touch its dancing flames.

"Ouch! Noire, what was that for!?" She whines as she rubs her hand.

"Because you were about to touch the fire!"

"So?"

"Neptune.. You idiot! The fire is hot! Very hot! You would have burnt your hand!"

"Oh..."

Noire lets out a sigh. Was there ever a time where Neptune was smart about things?

"Hey, Noire?"

"Yes?"

"Uhm.. There's just something I've been meaning to tell ya' and well, being alone with you in this cave and all is pretty cliché so I may as well use this chance to tell you.. Noire, I think yo- no. Noire, you are really beautiful.

Luckily for Noire, Neptune couldn't see her reaction. Her eyes widened as her face became the brightest shade of red. Her mouth opening and closing as though she was a puppet. Wordless. Why had Neptune said that? She's never said anything that nice to Noire before. Was she even being nice? Knowing Neptune, it was probably just some kind of joke.

She leaned her head back against the wall of the cave and waited for Neptune to start laughing and say she was joking. Although, she found the longer she waited, the more she wanted Neptune to say something.

The silence went on for a stinging amount of time, how long had it even been? It felt like forever since they'd talked. At this point she didn't mind if Neptune had been joking. She just wanted this silence to end. But, as if the silence surrounding Noire could hear her, it continued to remain quiet.

Little did she know that Neptune was being completely serious. In fact, this whole time Neptune had been waiting for a reply. She had an idea of how Noire might act, that being, getting embarrassed and acting 'Tsun' so to say. But Noire wasn't answering at all. Neptune wanted to roll over, to be able to see her face, but the more she thought about it, the more she dreaded it. What if Noire rejected her? What if Noire hated her forever? She couldn't live with that. She couldn't lose Noire. As the time slowly and painfully ticked on Neptune regretted spilling that bit of information. It was too out of the blue, out of character even. She had rarely ever complimented Noire openly, especially about her beauty, in fact, she had never ever ever commented how beautiful Noire is. Sure, she joked and teased her about it, but that was it. She decided this silence had gone on long enough. She had to fix this, even if it meant keeping her feelings locked up inside.

Neptune didn't know what to expect, so she prepared for the worst. She prepared for rejection, abuse and hatred. Although, even for Noire that was a bit far fetched. With a deep breath she carefully rolled over on the other goddesses lap. Her heart launched out of her chest as she found herself looking into those sparkling, red eyes of Noires. Neptune was at a loss of words. She had longed to tell Noire how she felt for so long and now here she was, about to take the cowards route out all because she feared rejection. All she had said was that Noire was beautiful. It wasn't that bad, was it? It wasn't a lie. No, it defiantly wasn't a lie. It certainly wasn't a confession either, it wasn't even close.

With a few deep breaths Neptune calmed her racing heart. She was Neptune, goddess of Planeptune. Main character of the game. There was just no way she could take the cowards way out. She had to tell Noire how she felt. And now was the time.

"..Noire-"

"Neptu-"

"Uh! Ah.. you go first.."

"..O-okay. Well, U-um.. About what you said earlier.. y-you were.. joking, right..?"

"What? About you being beautiful? No, I wasn't joking. Noire, I mean it, you really are so so beautiful. Your eyes, your hair, everything! Everything about you is perfect.. and I.. I love you.. so much. I have for a while now.."

and just like that, Noire was frozen. (Metaphorically)!

"Uh.. Hello? Anyone home..?!" Neptune asks, sitting up to tap her cheek.

No reply came from the Lastation goddess.

 _Fine. If Noire wasn't going to answer, then Neptune would prove her love. (and also hopefully unfreeze her)._

Slowly, Neptune leaned forward towards Noire. Her heart raced and her stomach filled with butterflies as her face drew closer and closer, before -

[Church]

"Seriously, we could be in my basilicom right now, working on the damn satellite, but no, Neptune had to drag us out to have 'fun' and now look! we're stuck here for god knows how long!" Blanc growls.

"Shh. Please, lower your voice. Rom and Ram are still sleeping, you know."

"I know that!"

"Think of it this way, even if we had stayed behind to finish the satellite, there's no way of knowing if we would even have it done and ready by the end of today.."

"Who cares? We would have still made progress!"

"..I guess. But, Neptunes heart was in the right place."

"Yeah, but her brains not!"

"Now, really Blanc. How was she to know we would get stuck in a storm like this? Please, don't blame others. It was merely a coincidence."

"Tch."

".. I do wonder if everyone else is fine.."

"Sure, they're fine. The damn b*tches don't know how to die. If years of war with them taught me anything, it's that goddesses don't die easily."

"My.. Those were some good times."

"Yeah. The best. I loved the feeling of bringing my hammer down on you all."

"Bringing it down upon us? Ha. Hilarious."

"What are you saying? I kicked everyone's butt!"

"The only one getting their butt kicked was a certain flat-chested CPU.."

"Damn you-"

"Hey, look, sunshine!" Ram shouts, breaking the two arguing CPU's attention.

"Wow, you're right. The storm is clearing." Vert agrees.

"Rom, wake up. The storm is finishing!" Ram yells, shaking her twin.

Rom sits up on the bench and rubs her eyes. "Look there, Rom!" Ram says, pointing to the window. Rom turns to find a bright light beaming through the windows. "Woah!" Rom gasps, rising from the bench. The two candidates run over to get a closer look. "Well, what do you know.." Blanc says, looking to the window. "Hey, the snow isn't blowing around anymore! Can we go outside now? Can we?" Ram asks, eagerly. "Sure.. Lets go find everyone else." Blanc answers. "Yes!" The twins shout as they burst out the door. Vert and Blanc stand in the door way watching as Rom and Ram race around in the large build-up of snow. "I hope she didn't hear that conversation.." Blanc states. "You mean our little argument? I'm sure it's fine. Even if she did hear, seeing the storm pass will grab her attention for the most part." Vert answers. "Yeah, You're right. Well, lets get a move on. Who knows what trouble Neptune has caused by now.."


	6. Chapter 6

[Barn]

Nepgear carefully blows out the candle inside the lantern before placing it back down on the floor. "That should do it. Though, I'm kind of going miss this place." She says, looking around at the now sun-lit barn. "What? You're kidding, right?" Uni asks. "No, I'm not. This building as a really nice feel to it." Nepgear replies. Uni rolls her eyes as she opens the barn doors.

"I know I shouldn't be surprised but.. Considering we were basically locked in here for a whole day, surely you would have some hatred to this dump." Uni protests.

"Dump? It's a lovely place. Besides, it saved our lives." Nepgear retorts.

"It didn't save our lives.. I did."

"Yeah.. Wait, what?!"

"Ha ha, I'm joking! But.. Let's skip the part where we were stuck outside in the cold, okay?"

"Agreed. As long as I get a little credit for the work I did.."

"Work?! What work did you do, besides light a candle!?"

"Hey! You're a lot heavier than you know!"

"No one will believe that!"

"Yes, they will!"

"No they- Argh. Whatever. I'll give you _some_ credit, okay? Happy now? Can we get going?"

"Yes, thank you very much."

The girls begin making their way to the top of the hill, where the group was supposed to meet after clearing the monsters. In the distance they spot Rom, Ram, Blanc and Vert making their way over. "Rom, Ram! You guys are okay!" Nepgear calls out as she races over to them. Uni begins running towards them, too. Before long they reach the other group and embrace the younger candidates in a group hug. "It's good to see you two are okay." Blanc states as she comes to a halt. "Nepgear!" Vert cries out, happily as she pushes past Blanc. She grabs hold of Nepgear and holds her close, tightly hugging her. "I'm so glad!" She states. "Ah, yeah, me too, Vert! But, you're kind of hurting me.." Nepgear replies. Blanc looks around a little before facing Uni, "Hey, wheres Noire and Neptune..?" She asks. "They went off by themselves after you guys left." Uni replies. "Oh dear." Vert says, letting go of Nepgear. "Do you know where they went?" Blanc asks. "We didn't see them go but there was a group of Hyena's over there. Maybe they cleared them out.." Nepgear answers. Blanc and Vert look over in the direction in which Nepgear looks. "There's a heap of caves there, maybe they sought refuge in one of them." Vert offers. "Yeah. Let's go with that. Split up, I'll go with Rom and Ram, Vert can go with Nepgear and Uni. We'll search the caves one by one. Okay?" Blanc orders. "Yes Ma'am!" The group agrees.

Blanc leads Rom and Ram into one of the caves, leaving Vert alone with Nepgear and Uni. "Right then ladies. Follow me." Vert demands, halfheartedly as she leads the two candidates into a cave. They walk in silence for some time, looking around the cave for any signs of Noire or Neptune. However, they have no such luck as they reach the end of the cave. "Let's search the next one then.." Vert suggests, leading them back out of the cave and into the next. As the hours tick by Nepgear and Uni begin getting increasingly worried about their sisters, having no luck from either group. Finally, they reach the last cave. Nepgear and Uni hanging on to the last remaining hope they have as they enter the cave. Vert turns around and spots the gloomy faces on both of the girls, thus deciding to lighten up the mood, somehow. "So ladies..." She starts. _Come on, think, Vert, think. Something to take their minds of this. Oh!_ "Did you have fun in that little barn of yours?" Vert asks. The question earns an embarrassing flush of red from both of the girls as they're caught off guard. "O-of course not. W-we were trapped in there during the storm! What type of f-f-fun do you think we'd be having in there!?" Uni retorts. "Hmm. Well, what other fun could I mean? You two were trapped in there for so long. Surely, you two would find a way to keep each other.. _warm..?"_ Vert asks, winking at them. "W-w-w-what?!" Uni stutters, sounding somewhat like a robot. "W-we didn't do anything of the s-sort!" Nepgear protests. "That's right! Nothing like that!" Uni agrees. Vert lets out a chuckle before trying again, "Don't worry girls, your secret is safe with me~" She says, winking again. "S-secret..?! No! We said it was nothing like that..!" Uni argues, her face matching that of a tomato. "Now, now, ladies. Don't get so worked up about this. After all, survival instincts are survival instincts. Once they kick in, we do whatever we must to survive, right?" Vert asks. "No! You've got it all wrong..!" Uni states, her eyes watering from embarrassment. "W-wait.. 'Survival Instincts'..? You mean..!" Nepgear says, her face a dark crimson. "That's right. What did you think I meant..?" Vert asks, curiously. "Oh! It's nothing!" Nepgear says, awkwardly. "Huh?" Uni looks at Nepgear, slightly confused. Nepgear smiles reassuringly at her, "What Vert meant was, that we survived the storm in our own way. Same as how her and Blanc had. I feel pretty silly for taking it the wrong way.." Nepgear answers, laughing awkwardly. Uni looks down at her shoes, feeling silly for reacting the way she did, too. Meanwhile, Vert watches on with an approving smirk. _Though, if they acted that way.. then could it mean that they really did something like that?_ Vert thinks as she continues leading them through the cave.

[Cave]

 _Right. I can do this! I'm Neptune, after all! Main of the game! Heroin of Gamindustri! CPU of Planeptune! Owner of everyone's hearts- Okay, I'm done now._

Slowly, Neptune leaned forward towards Noire. Her heart pounds in her chest as she draws closer to the raven-haired CPU. As she became only inches away Noires eyes locked on to her as she snapped out of whatever trance she was in. "N-Neptune..?" She says. But, it was too late for Neptune to back out now. She had hyped herself up too much already. "Nept-" Noires voice was sealed by a gentle kiss to her lips. Her eyes slowly closed shut too as Neptune pressed her lips onto hers. After a few seconds Neptune reluctantly pulled away. "..tune.." Noire spoke, softly. "Ha ha, Yeah?" Neptune answers, awkwardly. Noires face turns a dark crimson as she looks down awkwardly, "..Uh.. I guess, I.. L-love-"

"Noire!"

"Neptune!"

"KYAH!"

Noire almost jumps out of her skin as Uni and Nepgear race over to her and Neptune. "H-huh? Uni, Nepgear?! What are you guys doing here..?" She asks. "We came here to find you two. The storms over, we can go home now." Uni answers. "O-oh.. That's great.." Noire replies. "Awe. Nep what? You guys ruined a great scene, ya' know!" Neptune complains. "Oh goodness. I'm sorry. What was it that was interrupted..?" Nepgear answers. Neptune winks at her little sister, "Well, you see, Noire was just about to-"

"SHUT UP!" Noire yells out as she covers Neptunes mouth.

Uni and Nepgear look at them with puzzled expressions.

"I-it's nothing, really! Lets go home, already!"

As Noire and Neptune get up Vert walks out from around the corner. "Oh my. Perhaps they were issuing some 'Survival Instincts' of their own.." Vert teases as she winks at the two candidates. Noire and Neptune stare on, slightly confused, whilst Uni and Nepgear exchange looks of horror. "Whats this about 'Survival Instincts'?" Noire asks as the group begin making their way out of the cave. "Nothing! It's nothing!" Uni answers. Neptune ponders for a minute before answering, "Well, if you must know, Noire build a fire and then we-" "We don't wanna know!" Uni and Nepgear shout simultaneously.

-The End-


End file.
